Methods, Procedures and Framework to Provision an eSIM and Make It Multi-SIM Capable Using Primary Account Information

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments relate to methods for provisioning a secondary wireless device with an eSIM for wireless communication and activating multi-SIM functionality between the secondary wireless device and a primary wireless device having a subscribed SIM. The primary wireless device may act as a proxy in obtaining the eSIM for the secondary wireless device. The primary wireless device may then provide, to the cellular network, identifiers of the SIMs of the primary and secondary wireless devices. The primary wireless device may then request initiation of multi-SIM functionality for the two SIMs, and receive an indication that the multi-SIM functionality has been initiated. As an example, the multi-SIM functionality may be implemented by mapping the SIM of the primary wireless device and the SIM of the secondary wireless device (e.g., the provisioned eSIM) to the same Mobile Directory Number (MDN).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/817,081, entitled “Methods, Procedures and Framework to Provision aneSIM and Make It Multi-SIM Capable Using Primary Account Information,”by Vikram B. Yerrabommanahalli, et al., filed Nov. 17, 2017, now issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 10,080,119, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/178,727, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,843,885,having the same title, by Vikram B. Yerrabommanahalli, et al., filedJun. 10, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 62/204,431, having the same title, by Vikram B.Yerrabommanahalli, et al., filed Aug. 12, 2015, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety as though fully andcompletely set forth herein.

This application is related to co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 8,887,257, filedApr. 26, 2012, titled “ELECTRONIC ACCESS CLIENT DISTRIBUTION APPARATUSAND METHODS,” and co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 8,555,067, filed May 19, 2011,titled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING ELECTRONIC IDENTIFICATIONCOMPONENTS OVER A WIRELESS NETWORK,” both of which are incorporatedherein in their entirety.

The claims in the instant application are different than those of theparent application or other related applications. The Applicanttherefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parentapplication or any predecessor application in relation to the instantapplication. The Examiner is therefore advised that any such previousdisclaimer and the cited references that it was made to avoid, may needto be revisited. Further, any disclaimer made in the instant applicationshould not be read into or against the parent application or otherrelated applications.

FIELD

The present application relates to wireless communication, includingprovisioning a secondary wireless device, such as a smart watch, with aneSIM for wireless communication using account information from a primarywireless device having a subscribed SIM.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. Further,wireless communication technology has evolved from voice-onlycommunications to also include the transmission of data, such asInternet and multimedia content.

Mobile electronic devices may take the form of smart phones or tabletsthat a user typically carries. Wearable devices are a newer form ofmobile electronic device, one example being smart watches. Certain typesof mobile electronic devices may commonly have limited wirelesscommunications capabilities and may be capable of communicating onlyover wired interfaces or short-range point-to-point technologies.Therefore, such mobile electronic devices may sometimes be associatedwith a primary wireless communication device, such as a smart phone, andmay depend upon the primary device in order to perform long-rangewireless communications.

It would be desirable for wearable devices and other limited mobiledevices to provide communications capabilities similar to those of smartphones. Thus, improvements in the field are desirable.

SUMMARY

Embodiments are presented herein of, inter alia, a system and associatedmethods for provisioning a secondary wireless device, such as a smartwatch, with an eSIM for wireless communication using account informationfrom a primary wireless device, such as a smart phone, having asubscribed SIM, and activating multi-SIM functionality for the eSIM andthe subscribed SIM.

A method is disclosed for initiating multi-SIM functionality between afirst mobile device and a second mobile device. The first mobile devicemay provide, to a cellular communication network, an identifier of aSubscriber Identity Module (SIM) of the first mobile device and anidentifier of a SIM of the second mobile device. The first mobile devicemay request initiation by the cellular communication network ofmulti-SIM functionality for the SIM of the first mobile device and theSIM of the second mobile device. The first mobile device may receive,from the cellular communication network, an indication that themulti-SIM functionality has been initiated for the SIM of first mobiledevice and the SIM of the second mobile device.

In some embodiments, the requesting initiation by the cellularcommunication network of multi-SIM functionality for the SIM of firstmobile device and the SIM of the second mobile device may includerequesting that the SIM of second mobile device be mapped to a MobileDirectory Number (MDN) to which the SIM of the first mobile device isalso mapped.

In some embodiments, the first mobile device may receive an indicationof a received telephone communication request, after the receiving theindication that the multi-SIM functionality has been initiated, whereinthe second mobile device also receives the indication of the receivedtelephone communication request.

In some embodiments, at least one of the SIM of first mobile device andthe SIM of the second mobile device is an embedded SIM (eSIM).

In some embodiments, the identifier of the SIM of the second mobiledevice may be an embedded Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (eICCID)associated with an embedded SIM (eSIM) of the second mobile device. Thefirst mobile device may request that the cellular communication networkbind the eICCID associated with the eSIM of the second mobile device toa Card Serial Number (CSN) of the second mobile device. The first mobiledevice may receive a confirmation that the eICCID associated with theeSIM of the second mobile device is bound to the CSN of the secondmobile device.

A primary mobile device is also disclosed, including a UniversalIntegrated Circuit Card (UICC) storing a Subscriber Identity Module(SIM) having an identifier identifying the SIM; at least one processor;and a memory storing software instructions executable by the at leastone processor to cause the mobile device to perform actions similar tothose described in the methods above.

A secondary cellular communication device is also disclosed, including aUniversal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) configured to store an embeddedSubscriber Identity Module (eSIM); at least one processor; and a memorystoring software instructions executable by the at least one processor.Executing the software instructions may cause the secondary cellularcommunication device to: receive, from a cellular communication network,a first indication that an eSIM has been bound to the identifier of thesecondary cellular communication device; receive, from the cellularcommunication network, a second indication that multi-SIM functionalityhas been initiated for the eSIM and a SIM of a primary cellularcommunication device; download the eSIM to the UICC; and utilize theeSIM to conduct a cellular communication on the cellular communicationnetwork.

In some embodiments, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)of the eSIM and an IMSI of the SIM of the primary cellular communicationdevice may be mapped to a single Mobile Directory Number (MDN).

In some embodiments, the first indication and/or the second indicationmay be received from the cellular communication network via the primarycellular communication device.

In some embodiments, the UICC may be an embedded UICC (eUICC).

In some embodiments, executing the software instructions may furthercause the secondary cellular communication device to requestprovisioning of the eSIM by communicating with an eSIM server viacellular communications using a second eSIM stored on the UICC, thesecond eSIM having limited cellular communication capabilities.

In some embodiments, executing the software instructions may furthercause the secondary cellular communication device to requestprovisioning of the eSIM by communicating with an eSIM server via awireless local area network (WLAN).

This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of thesubject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will beappreciated that the above-described features are merely examples andshould not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subjectmatter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparentfrom the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present subject matter can be obtainedwhen the following detailed description of the embodiments is consideredin conjunction with the following drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system including asecondary wireless device, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example system where a secondary wireless devicecan selectively either directly communicate with a cellular base stationor utilize the cellular capabilities of an intermediate or proxy devicesuch as a smart phone, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example secondary wirelessdevice, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating example operation of provisioningan eSIM to a secondary wireless device or initiating multi-SIMfunctionality using a carrier system, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating example operation of provisioningan eSIM to a secondary wireless device or initiating multi-SIMfunctionality using a carrier system supplemented with a client portalserver, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating example operation of provisioningan eSIM to a secondary wireless device or initiating multi-SIMfunctionality using a carrier system including an SMS server andsupplemented with a client portal server, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating example operation of provisioningan eSIM to a secondary wireless device or initiating multi-SIMfunctionality using a carrier system supplemented with a client portalserver configured to implement a signup procedure, according to someembodiments; and

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating example operation of provisioningan eSIM to a secondary wireless device or initiating multi-SIMfunctionality using a carrier system with a modified eSIM server,according to some embodiments.

While the features described herein are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof areshown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described indetail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particularform disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims.

The term “configured to” is used herein to connote structure byindicating that the units/circuits/components include structure (e.g.,circuitry) that performs the task or tasks during operation. As such,the unit/circuit/component can be said to be configured to perform thetask even when the specified unit/circuit/component is not currentlyoperational (e.g., is not on). The units/circuits/components used withthe “configured to” language include hardware—for example, circuits,memory storing program instructions executable to implement theoperation, etc. Reciting that a unit/circuit/component is “configuredto” perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invokeinterpretation under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) for that unit/circuit/component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Acronyms

The following acronyms are used in this disclosure.

3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

3GPP2: Third Generation Partnership Project 2

CSN: Card Serial Number

eICCID: Embedded Integrated Circuit Card Identifier

eSIM: Embedded SIM

GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

ICCID: Integrated Circuit Card Identifier

IMSI: International Mobile Subscriber Identity

LTE: Long Term Evolution

LTE-A: LTE-Advanced

SIM: Subscriber Identity Module

UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

Terminology

The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices orstorage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include aninstallation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; acomputer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM,SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash,magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, orother similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium mayinclude other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinationsthereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a firstcomputer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located ina second different computer system which connects to the first computersystem over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, thesecond computer system may provide program instructions to the firstcomputer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or morememory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., indifferent computer systems that are connected over a network. The memorymedium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computerprograms) that may be executed by one or more processors.

Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physicaltransmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physicaltransmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devicesincluding multiple programmable function blocks connected via aprogrammable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field ProgrammableGate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (FieldProgrammable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmablefunction blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or lookup tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processorcores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as“reconfigurable logic”.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or otherdevice or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computersystem” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combinationof devices) having at least one processor that executes instructionsfrom a memory medium.

User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of computersystems devices which are mobile or portable and which performs wirelesscommunications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones orsmart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gamingdevices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, Play Station Portable™, Gameboy Advance™,iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g. smart watch, smart glasses),PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, orother handheld devices, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device”can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/ortelecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easilytransported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

Base Station—The term “Base Station” (also called “eNB”) has the fullbreadth of its ordinary meaning, and at least includes a wirelesscommunication station installed at a fixed location and used tocommunicate as part of a wireless cellular communication system.

Processing Element—refers to various elements or combinations ofelements. Processing elements include, for example, circuits such as anASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), portions or circuits ofindividual processor cores, entire processor cores, individualprocessors, programmable hardware devices such as a field programmablegate array (FPGA), and/or larger portions of systems that includemultiple processors.

Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computersystem (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g.,circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without userinput directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thus,the term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manuallyperformed or specified by the user, where the user provides input todirectly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiatedby input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that areperformed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are notperformed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform.For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting eachfield and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typinginformation, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is fillingout the form manually, even though the computer system must update theform in response to the user actions. The form may be automaticallyfilled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g.,software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of theform and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answersto the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automaticfilling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of theform (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields butrather they are being automatically completed). The presentspecification provides various examples of operations beingautomatically performed in response to actions the user has taken.

FIG. 1—Wireless Communication System

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless cellular communicationsystem. It is noted that FIG. 1 represents one possibility among many,and that features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any ofvarious systems, as desired.

As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes acellular base station 102A, which communicates over a transmissionmedium with one or more wireless devices 106A, 106B, etc., as well assecondary wireless device 107. Wireless devices 106A, 106B, and 107 maybe user devices, which may be referred to herein as “user equipment”(UE) or UE devices.

The base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cellsite, and may include hardware that enables wireless communication withthe UE devices 106A, 106B, and 107. The base station 102 may also beequipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of acellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet, among variouspossibilities). Thus, the base station 102 may facilitate communicationbetween the UE devices 106 and 107 and/or between the UE devices 106/107and the network 100. In other implementations, base station 102 can beconfigured to provide communications over one or more other wirelesstechnologies, such as an access point supporting one or more WLANprotocols, such as 802.11a, b, g, n, ac, ad, and/or ax, or LTE in anunlicensed band (LAA).

The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station 102 may bereferred to as a “cell.” The base station 102 and the UEs 106/107 may beconfigured to communicate over the transmission medium using any ofvarious radio access technologies (RATs) or wireless communicationtechnologies, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA, TDS-CDMA), LTE, LTE-Advanced(LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD),Wi-Fi, WiMAX etc.

Base station 102 and other similar base stations (not shown) operatingaccording to one or more cellular communication technologies may thus beprovided as a network of cells, which may provide continuous or nearlycontinuous overlapping service to UE devices 106A-N and 107 and similardevices over a wide geographic area via one or more cellularcommunication technologies.

Note that at least in some instances a UE device 106/107 may be capableof communicating using any of a plurality of wireless communicationtechnologies. For example, a UE device 106/107 might be configured tocommunicate using one or more of GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, LTE, LTE-A,WLAN, Bluetooth, one or more global navigational satellite systems(GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one and/or more mobile televisionbroadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H), etc. Other combinations ofwireless communication technologies (including more than two wirelesscommunication technologies) are also possible. Likewise, in someinstances a UE device 106/107 may be configured to communicate usingonly a single wireless communication technology.

The UEs 106A and 106B are typically handheld devices such as smartphones or tablets, but may be any of various types of device withcellular communications capability. The UE 106B may be configured tocommunicate with the UE device 107, which may be referred to as asecondary wireless device 107. The secondary wireless device 107 may beany of various types of devices, such as a wearable device, a tabletcomputing device, a laptop computer, or a handheld device. The secondarywireless device 107 may, in some cases, have a smaller form factorand/or may have limited battery, output power and/or communicationsabilities relative to UEs 106. As one common example, the UE 106B may bea smart phone carried by a user, and the secondary wireless device 107may be a smart watch worn by that same user. The UE 106B and thesecondary wireless device 107 may communicate, e.g., using any ofvarious short range communication protocols, such as Bluetooth.

In some embodiments the UE 106B and/or the secondary wireless device 107may be configured to perform dynamic multi-SIM provisioning, asdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example secondary wireless device 107 incommunication with base station 102. The secondary wireless device 107may be a wearable device such as a smart watch. The secondary wirelessdevice 107 may include cellular communication capability and be capableof directly communicating with the base station 102 as shown. Thesecondary wireless device 107 may also be capable of communicating withanother device (e.g., UE 106), e.g., using a short range communicationsprotocol, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

The secondary wireless device 107 may include a processor that isconfigured to execute program instructions stored in memory. Thesecondary wireless device 107 may perform any of the method embodimentsdescribed herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively,or in addition, the secondary wireless device 107 may include aprogrammable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gatearray), or other circuitry, that is configured to perform any of themethod embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the methodembodiments described herein. For example, the secondary wireless device107 may be configured to perform dynamic multi-SIM provisioning, asdescribed herein.

The secondary wireless device 107 may include one or more antennas forcommunicating using two or more wireless communication protocols orradio access technologies. In some embodiments, the secondary wirelessdevice 107 might be configured to communicate using a single sharedradio. The shared radio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple tomultiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wirelesscommunications. Alternatively, the secondary wireless device 107 mayinclude two or more radios. For example, the secondary wireless device107 might include a shared radio for communicating using either of LTE(or LTE-Advanced) or Bluetooth, and separate radios for communicatingusing each of LTE-Advanced and Bluetooth. Other configurations are alsopossible.

The secondary wireless device 107 may be any of various types ofdevices, and may, in some embodiments, have a smaller form factorrelative to a conventional smart phone. As noted above, in someembodiments, the secondary wireless device 107 may be a smart watch orother type of wearable device. As another example, the secondarywireless device 107 may be a tablet device, such as an iPad™, by AppleInc.

FIG. 3—Example Block Diagram of a Secondary Wireless Device

FIG. 3 illustrates one possible block diagram of a secondary wirelessdevice 107. As shown, the secondary wireless 107 may include a system onchip (SOC) 300, which may include portions for various purposes. Forexample, as shown, the SOC 300 may include processor(s) 302 which mayexecute program instructions for the UE 106, and display circuitry 304which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to thedisplay 360. The processor(s) 302 may also be coupled to memorymanagement unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addressesfrom the processor(s) 302 and translate those addresses to locations inmemory (e.g., memory 306, read only memory (ROM) 350, Flash memory 310).The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and pagetable translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may beincluded as a portion of the processor(s) 302.

The secondary wireless device 107 may also include other circuits ordevices, such as the display circuitry 304, radio 330, connector I/F320, and/or display 360. The wireless device 107 may further include oneor more smart cards 370 that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module)functionality, such as one or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated CircuitCard(s)).

In the embodiment shown, ROM 350 may include a bootloader, which may beexecuted by the processor(s) 302 during boot up or initialization. Asalso shown, the SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of thesecondary wireless device 107. For example, the secondary wirelessdevice 107 may include various types of memory, a connector interface320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system), the display 360, andwireless communication circuitry (e.g., for communication using LTE,CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.).

The secondary wireless device 107 may include at least one antenna, andin some embodiments multiple antennas, for performing wirelesscommunication with base stations and/or other devices. For example, thesecondary wireless device 107 may use antenna 335 to perform thewireless communication. As noted above, the UE may in some embodimentsbe configured to communicate wirelessly using a plurality of wirelesscommunication standards or radio access technologies (RATs).

As noted above, the secondary wireless device 107 may include at leastone smart card 370, such as a UICC, which executes one or moreSubscriber Identity Module (SIM) applications and/or otherwiseimplements SIM functionality. The at least one smart card 370 may beonly a single smart card 370, or the secondary wireless device 107 mayinclude two or more smart cards 370.

Each smart card 370 may be embedded, e.g., may be soldered onto acircuit board in the secondary wireless device 107, or each smart card370 may be implemented as a removable smart card. Thus, the smartcard(s) 370 may be one or more removable smart cards (such as UICCs,which are sometimes referred to as “SIM cards”), and/or the smartcard(s) 370 may be one or more embedded cards (such as embedded UICCs(eUICCs), which are sometimes referred to as “eSIM cards”), which may befixed/non-removable. In some embodiments, the secondary wireless device107 may include a combination of removable smart cards and embeddedsmart cards, as desired. For example, the UE 106 may include twoembedded smart cards 370, two removable smart cards 370, or acombination of one embedded smart card 370 and one removable smart card370. Various other SIM configurations are also contemplated.

In some embodiments, one or more of the smart card(s) 370 may implementembedded SIM (eSIM) functionality. In such embodiments, a single one ofthe smart card(s) 370 may execute multiple SIMs. An eSIM may beimplemented on either an eUICC or a removable UICC, as long as thecard's operating system supports eSIM functionality.

Each of the smart card(s) 370 may include components such as a processorand a memory. Instructions for performing SIM/eSIM functionality may bestored in the memory and executed by the processor.

As described herein, the secondary wireless device 107 may includehardware and software components for implementing methods according toembodiments of this disclosure. For example, the secondary wirelessdevice 107 may be configured to perform dynamic multi-SIM provisioning,as described herein. The processor 302 of the secondary wireless device107 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods describedherein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memorymedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Inother embodiments, processor 302 may be configured as a programmablehardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or asan ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

It is noted that the UEs 106A and 106B shown in FIG. 1 may have asimilar architecture to that described above.

Multi-SIM Provisioning

Some wireless communications networks support multi-SIM functionality.With multi-SIM functionality, multiple SIMs, e.g., associated withmultiple devices, may be associated with a shared contact address, suchas a shared telephone number. Thus, with multi-SIM functionality, atelephone call placed to the shared telephone number may cause each ofthe multiple devices to ring simultaneously, or substantiallysimultaneously. The call may then be accepted on any of the devices.Similarly, a call placed from any of the devices may be identified withthe shared number. Other communications functions, such as SMS or MIMSmessages, may be handled similarly—i.e., a received message may bedelivered to all devices associated with the shared number, and anoutgoing message may be identified with the shared number, regardless ofwhich of the associated devices originated the message.

To accomplish multi-SIM functionality between a primary device, such asthe UE 106, and a secondary device, such as the secondary wirelessdevice 107, a carrier network may map a SIM of each of the two devices,e.g., the IMSI of each of the devices, to the same Mobile DirectoryNumber (MDN). Thus, each device maintains unique SIM information (e.g.,for identification and authentication within the network), while sharinga common MDN. When a communication is received by the network that isaddressed to the common MDN, the network may fork the communication,directing it to both the primary device and the secondary deviceassociated with the common MDN. Similarly, when either the primarydevice or the secondary device initiates a communication, the networkmay handle the communication as having a point of origin identified bythe common MDN. Thus, either device may be used to send or receivecommunications associated with the MDN, regardless of the proximity oroperational state of the other device.

To accomplish multi-SIM functionality within a mobile device, a SIM ofthe mobile device may include an operating system configured to supportmulti-SIM. Historically, SIMs have been provisioned with thisfunctionality at time of manufacture. Furthermore, SIMs havehistorically been manufactured with multi-SIM pairing in place; i.e.,with two or more SIMs manufactured as paired or grouped sets of SIMs.

However, the systems and methods disclosed herein provide functionalityto dynamically provision a previously unpaired SIM with multi-SIMfunctionality, as long as the SIM's operating system supports multi-SIMfunctionality.

Additionally, as discussed herein, eSIMs may also be configured tooperate with multi-SIM functionality. Thus, dynamic provisioning ofeSIMs, as described herein, allows for already-operating mobile devicesto be dynamically provisioned with eSIMs configured to support multi-SIMfunctionality.

FIGS. 4-8—Dynamically Provisioning an eSIM and Initiating Multi-SIMFunctionality

FIGS. 4 through 8 are flow diagrams illustrating example methods bywhich a secondary wireless device 107 may be dynamically provisionedwith an eSIM for wireless communication, such as cellularcommunications, and/or by which multi-SIM functionality may be initiatedfor a primary wireless device 106 and a secondary wireless device 107.In some scenarios, the eSIM for the secondary device may be provisionedusing account information from a primary wireless device 106. Forexample, a primary wireless device 106 having SIM account informationmay be configured to sign in to a client portal, and to add thesecondary wireless device 107 to the SIM account, e.g., by initiatingprovisioning of an eSIM associated with the SIM account to the secondarywireless device. If the carrier supports multi-SIM functionality, thenthe provisioning of the eSIM may include adding multi-SIM functionalityto the SIM account.

FIG. 4 illustrates provisioning an eSIM to the secondary wireless device107 and/or initiating multi-SIM functionality using a carrier system.FIG. 5 illustrates provisioning an eSIM to the secondary wireless device107 and/or initiating multi-SIM functionality using a carrier systemsupplemented with a client portal server. FIG. 6 illustratesprovisioning an eSIM to the secondary wireless device 107 and/orinitiating multi-SIM functionality using a carrier system that includesan SMS server and is supplemented with a client portal server. FIG. 7illustrates provisioning an eSIM to the secondary wireless device and/orinitiating multi-SIM functionality using a carrier system supplementedwith a client portal server configured to implement a signup procedure.FIG. 8 illustrates provisioning an eSIM to the secondary wireless deviceand/or initiating multi-SIM functionality using a carrier system with amodified eSIM server.

It should be understood that the flow diagrams illustrated in Figuresare simplified for ease of explanation. The systems illustrated mayinclude additional elements and/or signals. Although the followingdiscussion may include descriptions of a first element “transmitting to”a second element one or more signals, it should be understood that suchsignals may, in some circumstances, be transmitted via intermediaryelements, such as a radio access network (e.g. including a cellular basestation or other wireless access point), and/or via intermediarynetworks (e.g., a WLAN, the Internet, and/or other portions of thecellular network).

FIG. 4—Provisioning an eSIM or Initiating Multi-SIM Using a CarrierSystem

FIG. 4 illustrates communications 402-436, sent in connection with acommunications system including a primary device, a secondary device, anaccess server, a telephony application server (TAS)/billing system, andan eSIM server. Each of the communications 402-436 may include one ormore messages transmitted between the illustrated elements of thecommunications system. The primary device may include a device such asthe UE 106, as discussed above. The secondary device may include adevice such as the secondary wireless device 107, as discussed above.The access server may include one or more server devices configured tocontrol access to the eSIM server and/or to the HSS/TAS/billing system.The access server may be hosted by the carrier, such as a cellularservice provider, or by an agent of the carrier. The HSS/TAS/billingsystem may include one or more server devices configured to providewireless account information and services, such as billing informationand services, for a wireless device by the carrier. The one or moreserver devices of the HSS/TAS/billing system may be further configuredto provide additional telephony application services, and may act, forexample, as a home subscriber server. The HSS/TAS/billing system may behosted by the carrier or by an agent of the carrier. The eSIM server mayinclude one or more server devices configured to manage and provisioneSIMs. The eSIM server may be hosted by the carrier, such as a cellularservice provider, or by an agent of the carrier.

The primary device may transmit a query 402, requesting from the accessserver information regarding service plans available for the secondarydevice. For example, the query 402 may request information regardingservice plans that may be added to an existing service plan of theprimary device. The query 402 may identify the primary and/or thesecondary device. For example, the query 402 may identify a Card SerialNumber (CSN) associated with an eUICC of the secondary device. In somescenarios, using an identifier associated with the physical eUICC, suchas a CSN, to identify the secondary device may provide advantages overusing other identifiers known in the art, such as an Integrated CircuitCard ID (ICCID) number, which is associated with a SIM. For example,because an eUICC may be dynamically provisioned with an eSIM, an eSIMpresent on the eUICC may potentially be replaced with a new eSIM, whichmay have a different ICCID. In other scenarios, an ICCID or otheridentifier may be used to identify the secondary device. In somescenarios, the query 402 may be transmitted by the secondary device tothe access server, e.g., via a WLAN, or by using a second SIM (e.g., alimited functionality SIM), as discussed below.

In response to receiving the query 402, the access server may transmitto the HSS/TAS/billing system a query 404, which may relay to theHSS/TAS/billing system the request for information regarding serviceplans available for the secondary device.

In response to receiving the query 404, the HSS/TAS/billing system mayidentify information regarding service plans available for the secondarydevice. For example, the information may include a list of one or moreservice plans available to the secondary device, and may include furtherinformation, such as a cost of each plan and/or contractual terms andconditions associated with one or more of the plans.

The service plans available to the secondary device may be fixed, or maybe dependent upon one or more factors, such as a device type of thesecondary device or a service plan associated with the primary device.In some scenarios, the list of service plans may include service planspertaining solely to the secondary device. For example, the list ofservice plans may include specified amounts of voice and/or datacommunications available for use by the secondary device, e.g., within aspecified time period, for a given price. As illustrative examples, thelist may include service plans such as 400 minutes of voice and 2 GB ofdata for $X per month, 1000 minutes of voice and 5 GB of data for $Y permonth, and/or unlimited voice and data for $Z per month.

Additionally, or alternatively, the list of service plans may includeservice plans pertaining to both the primary device and the secondarydevice. For example, the list of service plans may include one or moreplans that allow the secondary device to use data and/or voice resourcesallotted to the primary device for a given price. As an illustrativeexample, if the primary device operates with a service plan providing1000 minutes of voice and 5 GB of data each month, the list of serviceplans may include an option to allow the secondary device to utilizesome or all of the 1000 minutes of voice and/or 5 GB of data for anadditional $W per month.

The HSS/TAS/billing system may then transmit a response 406, providingto the access server the identified information regarding service plans.Response 406 may be at least partially in response to the query 404.

In response to receiving the response 406, the access server maytransmit to the primary device a response 408, which may relay to theprimary device some or all of the identified information regardingservice plans available for the secondary device.

Upon receiving the information regarding service plans, the primarydevice may display some or all of the information to a user at 410. Forexample, the primary device may display a graphical user interfaceincluding a list of service plans available for the secondary device.The graphical user interface may further include additional information,such as a cost of each service plan, and/or terms and conditionsassociated with one or more of the service plans.

At 412, the primary device may receive from the user an input. Forexample, the primary device may receive input from a user via atouch-screen interaction, voice command, or any other input method. Theuser input may select one of the available service plans, and may alsoprovide additional input, such as an input signifying acceptance ofcontractual terms and conditions associated with the selected serviceplan. In some scenarios, communications 410 and 412 may include multiplesteps, and may be iterative. In one illustrative example, the primarydevice may display a list of available service plans; receive a userselection of one of the displayed service plans; in response, may thendisplay terms and conditions associated with the selected service plan;and may receive an additional user input signifying acceptance of theterms and conditions. Other information may also be displayed, such asrequests for payment information, configuration settings, etc., andother user inputs may be received, e.g., in response to such otherinformation. In some scenarios, one or more prompts requesting securityinformation (e.g., username and password, personal information) may alsobe displayed, and the security information may be received. In somescenarios, the primary device may take no further action towardactivating a service plan or initiating multi-SIM functionality unlessthe correct security information is received.

The primary device may transmit to the access server an Add Planinstruction 414 to activate a service plan for the secondary device. Forexample, the Add Plan instruction 414 may include instruction to add aservice plan for the secondary device to an existing account associatedwith the primary device. In some examples, the Add Plan instruction 414may additionally, or alternatively, include an indication to provisionthe secondary device with multi-SIM functionality based on the primarydevice. The Add Plan instruction 414 may identify the selected serviceplan. The Add Plan instruction 414 may also identify the secondarydevice and/or the primary device, e.g., using one or more ICCIDs and/orCSNs. The Add Plan instruction 414 may be transmitted at least partiallyin response to receiving the user input at 412. In other scenarios, theprimary device may automatically transmit the Add Plan instruction 414in response to receiving the response 408, without displayinginformation at 410 or receiving user input at 412, for example if theresponse 408 identified only one available service plan, or if a serviceplan may be identified by the primary device based on previouslyreceived user preferences or instructions.

In response to receiving the Add Plan instruction 414, the access servermay transmit to the eSIM server a Reserve eICCID instruction 416. TheReserve eICCID instruction 416 may identify the secondary device and/orthe primary device, e.g., using one or more ICCIDs and/or CSNs. TheReserve eICCID instruction 416 may also identify the selected serviceplan. The Reserve eICCID instruction 416 may also optionally include anindication that the eICCID to be reserved should be associated with aneSIM configured to support multi-SIM functionality. In response toreceiving the Reserve eICCID instruction 416, the eSIM server mayreserve an eICCID for the secondary device, wherein the reserved eICCIDis associated with an eSIM configured to support the selected serviceplan. The eSIM server may then transmit to the access server a ReserveACK 418, acknowledging that an eICCID has been reserved for thesecondary device. The Reserve ACK 418 may identify the reserved eICCID.

The access server may transmit to the HSS/TAS/billing system an ActivatePlan instruction 420 to activate a service plan for the secondarydevice. For example, the Activate Plan instruction 420 may includeinstruction to add a service plan for the secondary device to anexisting account associated with the primary device. Additionally, oralternatively, the Activate Plan instruction 420 may include anindication to initiate multi-SIM functionality for the primary deviceand the secondary device. The Activate Plan instruction 420 may identifythe selected service plan. The Activate Plan instruction 420 may alsoidentify the secondary device and/or the primary device, e.g., using oneor more ICCIDs (e.g., the reserved eICCID) and/or CSNs. The accessserver may transmit the Activate Plan instruction 420 at least partiallyin response to receiving the Reserve ACK 418.

In response to receiving the Activate Plan instruction 420, theHSS/TAS/billing system may activate the selected service plan for thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may add theselected service plan to an existing account associated with the primarydevice. Additionally, or alternatively, the HSS/TAS/billing system mayinitiate multi-SIM functionality for the primary device and thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may map theIMSI (or other identifier) of each of the primary device and thesecondary device to the same MDN. The HSS/TAS/billing system may thentransmit to the access server an Activate ACK 422, acknowledging thatthe selected service plan has been activated and/or that multi-SIMfunctionality has been initiated. The Activate ACK 422 may include a URLfrom which the eSIM associated with the bound eICCID may be downloaded.

The access server may transmit to the eSIM server a Bind eICCIDinstruction 424. The Bind eICCID instruction 424 may identify thesecondary device and/or the reserved eICCID. The access server maytransmit the Bind eICCID instruction 424 at least partially in responseto receiving the Activate ACK 422. In response to receiving the BindeICCID instruction 424, the eSIM server may bind the reserved eICCID tothe secondary device, e.g., by binding the eICCID to the CSN or otheridentifier of the secondary device. The eSIM may then transmit to theaccess server a Bind ACK 426, acknowledging that the eICCID has beenbound. The Bind ACK 426 may include a URL from which the eSIM associatedwith the bound eICCID may be downloaded.

The access server may transmit to the primary device an Add Plan ACK428, acknowledging that the service plan has been activated for thesecondary device and/or that multi-SIM functionality has been initiated.The access server may transmit the Add Plan ACK 428 at least partiallyin response to receiving the Bind ACK 426. The Add Plan ACK 428 mayinclude the eICCID bound to the secondary device by the eSIM server. TheAdd Plan ACK 428 may also include a URL, or other network address, fromwhich the eSIM associated with the bound eICCID may be downloaded.Alternatively, the URL may be provided at another point, such as in theresponse 408, or the URL may be pre-defined in a software configurationof the primary device.

The primary device may transmit to the secondary device an eSIM Downloadinstruction 430. The eSIM Download instruction 430 may identify an eSIMto be provisioned to the secondary device, e.g., by identifying theeICCID bound to the secondary device by the eSIM server. Because thesecondary device has not yet been provisioned with the bound eSIM forcommunication on the carrier network, the primary device may, in somescenarios, transmit the eSIM Download instruction 430 via a secondarycommunication channel, such as a WLAN network or a short-rangecommunication connection, such as a Bluetooth connection. The primarydevice may transmit the eSIM Download instruction 430 at least partiallyin response to receiving the Add Plan ACK 428.

The secondary device may transmit to the eSIM server an InitiateDownload instruction 432, which may identify one or more of thesecondary device, the primary device, or the eSIM to be provisioned tothe secondary device. For example, the Initiate Download instruction 432may include the eICCID bound to the secondary device, the CSN or otheridentifier of the secondary device, and/or an ICCID or other identifierof the primary device. The secondary device may address the InitiateDownload instruction 432 to the URL identified in the Add Plan ACK 428.The secondary device may transmit the Initiate Download instruction 432at least partially in response to receiving the eSIM Downloadinstruction 430. In some scenarios, the secondary device may transmitthe Initiate Download instruction 432 at least partially in response toreceiving a Bind ACK, such as the Bind ACK 426, or other indication fromthe eSIM server, the access server, or the primary device that the eSIMis ready for download. In some scenarios, the secondary device maytransmit the Initiate Download instruction 432 at least partially inresponse to receiving an Activate ACK, such as the Activate ACK 422, orother indication from the HSS/TAS/billing system, the access server, orthe primary device that the selected service plan has been activatedand/or that the multi-SIM functionality has been initiated.

At least partially in response to receiving the Initiate Downloadinstruction 432, the eSIM server may transmit to the secondary device aneSIM Payload 434, including the eSIM bound to the secondary device.

The secondary device may receive the eSIM Payload 434 and store theincluded eSIM in an eUICC, at 436. At this stage, the secondary devicehas been successfully provisioned with the eSIM, and may use theprovisioned eSIM for communication on the carrier network. The secondarydevice may, in some scenarios, communicate to the first device anotification of success or failure of downloading the eSIM.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, in some scenarios, the primary device may actas a proxy for the secondary device in communicating the InitiateDownload instruction 432 and/or the eSIM Payload 434 with the eSIMserver, e.g., because the secondary device has not yet been provisionedwith the bound eSIM for communication on the carrier network. Forexample, the secondary device may not be configured to communicate viacellular or WLAN networks, or may fail to obtain an adequate connectionvia such networks. In such scenarios, the primary device may act as aproxy in communicating with the eSIM server. For example, the secondarydevice may transmit the Initiate Download instruction 432 to the primarydevice via a secondary communication channel, such as a short-rangecommunication connection, such as a Bluetooth connection. The primarydevice may then forward the Initiate Download instruction 432 to theeSIM server via the carrier network. Similarly, the eSIM server maytransmit the eSIM Payload 434 to the primary device. The primary devicemay then forward the eSIM Payload 434 to the secondary device via thesecondary communication channel.

In other scenarios, the secondary device may be capable of communicatingwith the eSIM server and/or other network components directly, withoutthe primary device acting as a proxy. For example, in some suchscenarios, the secondary device may be incapable of communicating viathe carrier network, but may be capable of communicating with the eSIMserver via a long-range secondary communication network, such as a WLANnetwork. In other such scenarios, the secondary device may have limitedcapability to communicate via the carrier network, even prior to beingprovisioned with the bound eSIM. For example, the secondary device mayhave previously been provisioned with a SIM configured to support onlycellular data communications, and not cellular voice communications. Insuch an example, the bound eSIM may be downloaded by the secondarydevice (e.g., where the secondary device includes multiple UICCs/eUICCs,and/or a single eUICC configured to execute multiple SIMs) to provideadditional communications capabilities via the carrier network, such asvoice communications. Thus, the secondary device may be capable ofcommunicating with the eSIM server via the carrier network using thepreviously provisioned data-only SIM in order to obtain the new boundeSIM. As another example, the secondary device may have previously beenprovisioned with a limited SIM—sometimes referred to as a “bootstrapSIM.” A bootstrap SIM may be configured to support only communicationsin connection with provisioning of a new eSIM, such as transmitting theInitiate Download instruction 432 and receiving the eSIM Payload 434,and may not support communication of user data. Thus, the secondarydevice may be capable of communicating with the eSIM server via thecarrier network using the previously provisioned bootstrap SIM in orderto obtain the new bound eSIM.

The methods as disclosed above in connection with FIG. 4 are useful invarious scenarios, and especially in scenarios in which the capabilitiesof the secondary device are limited with regard to communication orconfiguration. For example, in scenarios in which the secondary deviceis a smart watch, the method illustrated in FIG. 4 may be advantageous,as a larger or more capable interface of the primary device may beleveraged in the process of provisioning the secondary device with aneSIM. Additionally, as discussed above, communications capabilities ofthe primary device may also be leveraged in communicating with the eSIMserver and/or the access server in the process of provisioning thesecondary device with an eSIM. Additionally, as discussed above,involvement of the primary device in the provisioning process may bedesirable in scenarios in which the service plan selected for thesecondary device is to be added to an existing account associated withthe primary device.

However, in other scenarios, the secondary device may includecommunication and configuration capabilities sufficient to allow thesecondary device to initiate its own provisioning with an eSIM. Forexample, the secondary device may be a tablet computer, which mayinclude a large display, and which may further include long-rangecommunication capabilities, e.g., by using WLAN communication circuitryand/or a previously provisioned SIM, such as a data-only SIM or abootstrap SIM. In such scenarios, the method of FIG. 4 may be adapted toremove the primary device. For example, the secondary device maytransmit the query 402, the Add Plan instruction 414, and the InitiateDownload instruction 432. Similarly, the secondary device may receivethe reply 408, the Add Plan ACK 428, and the eSIM Payload 434. Thesecondary device may also display information at 410 and receive userinput at 412. The eSIM Download instruction 430 may be omitted.

It should be understood that FIG. 4, and the preceding descriptionthereof, are merely exemplary, and various steps or communications maybe omitted or reordered. For example, in some scenarios, the accessserver may transmit the Bind eICCID instruction 424 in response toreceiving the Reserve ACK 418, and may then transmit the Activate Planinstruction 420 in response to receiving the Bind ACK 426. As anotherexample, in some scenarios, some or all of communications 402-410 may beomitted, for example, where only one service plan is available for thesecondary device. In some such scenarios, a user instruction received at412 may initiate transmission of the Add Plan instruction 414 withregard to the one available service plan, without transmission ofcommunications 402-410.

As yet another example, multi-SIM functionality may be initiated for theprimary device and the secondary device, where the secondary device hasalready been provisioned with a multi-SIM-capable SIM. In some suchscenarios, communications 402-410, 416, 418, 424, 426, and 430-434 maybe omitted. For example, a user input at 412 may cause the primarydevice to transmit the Add Plan instruction 414, leading to the ActivatePlan instruction 420. As noted above, the Add Plan instruction 414 andthe Activate Plan instruction 420 may include an indication to initiatemulti-SIM functionality. In this example, the Add Plan instruction 414and the Activate Plan instruction 420 may not include any instruction toadd a new service plan. In response to receiving the Activate Planinstruction 420, the HSS/TAS/billing system may initiate multi-simfunctionality, e.g., by mapping an IMSI (or other identifier) of each ofthe primary device and the secondary device to the same MDN.

It should be understood that, while FIG. 4 illustrates the primarydevice as a smart phone and the secondary device as a smart watch, theseillustrations are not intended to be limiting. The primary device andthe secondary device are intended to have their full breadth of scope asdefined herein.

FIG. 5—Provisioning an eSIM or Initiating Multi-SIM Using a ClientPortal Server

FIG. 5 illustrates communications 502-540, sent in connection with acommunications system including a primary device, a secondary device, anaccess server, a telephony application server (TAS)/billing system, aclient portal server, and an eSIM server. Each of the communications502-540 may include one or more messages transmitted between theillustrated elements of the communications system. The primary devicemay include a device such as the UE 106, as discussed above. Thesecondary device may include a device such as the secondary wirelessdevice 107, as discussed above. The access server may include one ormore server devices configured to control access to the HSS/TAS/billingsystem. The access server may be hosted by the carrier, such as acellular service provider, or by an agent of the carrier. TheHSS/TAS/billing system may include one or more server devices configuredto provide wireless account information and services, such as billinginformation and services, for a wireless device by the carrier. The oneor more server devices of the HSS/TAS/billing system may be furtherconfigured to provide additional telephony application services, and mayact, for example, as a home subscriber server. The HSS/TAS/billingsystem may be hosted by the carrier or by an agent of the carrier. TheeSIM server may include one or more server devices configured to manageand provision eSIMs. The eSIM server may be hosted by the carrier, suchas a cellular service provider, or by an agent of the carrier, or by athird-party entity, such as, e.g., an entity that may be capable ofverifying an association between the primary device and the secondarydevice. The client portal server may include one or more server devicesconfigured to facilitate interaction between a wireless device and thecarrier. For example, the client portal server may be configured toprovide a security interface between the primary device and the eSIMserver. Specifically, in some scenarios, the eSIM server may beconfigured to communicate only with a trusted network entity, such as aclient portal server and/or an access server. The client portal servermay be hosted by a carrier or agent of the carrier, or by thethird-party entity.

By providing and hosting the client portal server and the eSIM server,the third-party entity may provide for provision of eSIMs operable onthe carrier network, while decreasing the changes to be made by thecarrier to the previously existing carrier network.

Communications 502-512 may be similar to communications 402-412 of FIG.4, and the description of each of communications 402-412 may be applied,mutatis mutandis, to communications 502-512.

The primary device may transmit to the client portal server a Reserveand Bind eICCID instruction 514. The Reserve and Bind eICCID instruction514 may identify the selected service plan. The Reserve and Bind eICCIDinstruction 514 may also optionally include an indication that theeICCID to be reserved should be associated with an eSIM configured tosupport multi-SIM functionality. The Reserve and Bind eICCID instruction514 may also identify the secondary device and/or the primary device,e.g., using one or more ICCIDs and/or CSNs. The Reserve and Bind eICCIDinstruction 514 may be transmitted at least partially in response toreceiving the user input at 512.

In response to receiving the Reserve and Bind eICCID instruction 514,the client portal server may transmit to the eSIM server a ReserveeICCID instruction 516. The Reserve eICCID instruction 516 may identifythe secondary device and/or the primary device, e.g., using one or moreICCIDs and/or CSNs. The Reserve eICCID instruction 516 may also identifythe selected service plan. The Reserve eICCID instruction 516 may alsooptionally include an indication that the eICCID to be reserved shouldbe associated with an eSIM configured to support multi-SIMfunctionality. In response to receiving the Reserve eICCID instruction516, the eSIM server may reserve an eICCID for the secondary device,wherein the reserved eICCID is associated with an eSIM configured tosupport the selected service plan. The eSIM server may then transmit tothe client portal server a Reserve ACK 518, acknowledging that an eICCIDhas been reserved for the secondary device. The Reserve ACK 518 mayidentify the reserved eICCID.

The client portal server may transmit to the eSIM server a Bind eICCIDinstruction 520. The Bind eICCID instruction 520 may identify thesecondary device and/or the reserved eICCID. The client portal servermay transmit the Bind eICCID instruction 520 at least partially inresponse to receiving the Reserve ACK 518. In response to receiving theBind eICCID instruction 520, the eSIM server may bind the reservedeICCID to the secondary device, e.g., by binding the eICCID to the CSNor other identifier of the secondary device. The eSIM may then transmitto the client portal server a Bind ACK 522, acknowledging that theeICCID has been bound. The Bind ACK 522 may identify the bound eICCID.The Bind ACK 522 may include a URL from which the eSIM associated withthe bound eICCID may be downloaded.

The client portal server may transmit to the primary device a Reserveand Bind ACK 524, acknowledging that the eICCID has been bound. TheReserve and Bind ACK 524 may identify the bound eICCID. The clientportal may transmit the Reserve and Bind ACK 524 at least partially inresponse to receiving the Bind ACK 522. The Reserve and Bind ACK 524 mayinclude a URL from which the eSIM associated with the bound eICCID maybe downloaded.

The primary device may transmit to the access server an Add Planinstruction 526 to activate a service plan for the secondary device. Forexample, the Add Plan instruction 526 may include instruction to add aservice plan for the secondary device to an existing account associatedwith the primary device. The Add Plan instruction 526 may identify theservice plan selected, e.g., at step 512. Additionally, oralternatively, the Add Plan instruction 526 may include an indication toinitiate multi-SIM functionality for the primary device and thesecondary device. The Add Plan instruction 526 may also identify thesecondary device and/or the primary device, e.g., using one or moreICCIDs and/or CSNs, and may also identify the bound eICCID. The Add Planinstruction 526 may be transmitted at least partially in response toreceiving the Reserve and Bind ACK 524.

The access server may transmit to the HSS/TAS/billing system an ActivatePlan instruction 528 to activate a service plan for the secondarydevice. For example, the Activate Plan instruction 528 may includeinstruction to add a service plan for the secondary device to anexisting account associated with the primary device. The Activate Planinstruction 528 may identify the selected service plan. Additionally, oralternatively, the Activate Plan instruction 528 may include anindication to initiate multi-SIM functionality for the primary deviceand the secondary device. The Activate Plan instruction 528 may alsoidentify the secondary device and/or the primary device, e.g., using oneor more ICCIDs and/or CSNs, and may also identify the bound eICCID. Theaccess server may transmit the Activate Plan instruction 528 at leastpartially in response to receiving the Add Plan instruction 526.

In response to receiving the Activate Plan instruction 528, theHSS/TAS/billing system may activate the selected service plan for thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may add theselected service plan to an existing account associated with the primarydevice. Additionally, or alternatively, the HSS/TAS/billing system mayinitiate multi-SIM functionality for the primary device and thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may map theIMSI (or other identifier) of each of the primary device and thesecondary device to the same MDN. The HSS/TAS/billing system may thentransmit to the access server an Activate ACK 530, acknowledging thatthe selected service plan has been activated and/or that multi-SIMfunctionality has been initiated. The Activate ACK 530 may include a URLfrom which the eSIM associated with the bound eICCID may be downloaded.

The access server may transmit to the primary device an Add Plan ACK532, acknowledging that the service plan has been activated for thesecondary device and/or that multi-SIM functionality has been initiated.The access server may transmit the Add Plan ACK 532 at least partiallyin response to receiving the Activate ACK 530. The Add Plan ACK 532 mayidentify the secondary device and/or the primary device, e.g., using oneor more ICCIDs (e.g., the reserved eICCID) and/or CSNs. The Add Plan ACK532 may also include a URL from which the eSIM associated with the boundeICCID may be downloaded. Alternatively, the URL may be provided atanother point, such as in the response 508, or the URL may bepre-defined in a software configuration of the primary device.

Communications 534, 536, 538, and 540 may be similar to communications430, 432, 434, and 436, respectively, of FIG. 4, and the description ofeach of communications 430, 432, 434, and 436 may be applied, mutatismutandis, to communications 534, 536, 538, and 540.

As with FIG. 4, the method of FIG. 5 may be adapted to allow thesecondary device to initiate its own provisioning with an eSIM.

It should be understood that FIG. 5, and the preceding descriptionthereof, are merely exemplary, and various steps or communications maybe omitted or reordered. For example, in some scenarios, some or all ofcommunications 502-510 may be omitted, for example, where only oneservice plan is available for the secondary device. In some suchscenarios, a user instruction received at 512 may initiate transmissionof the Reserve and Bind eICCID instruction 514 with regard to the oneavailable service plan, without transmission of communications 502-510.

As another example, multi-SIM functionality may be initiated for theprimary device and the secondary device, where the secondary device hasalready been provisioned with a multi-SIM-capable SIM. In some suchscenarios, communications 502-510, 514-524, and 534-540 may be omitted.For example, a user input at 512 may cause the primary device totransmit the Add Plan instruction 526, leading to the Activate Planinstruction 528. As noted above, the Add Plan instruction 526 and theActivate Plan instruction 528 may include an indication to initiatemulti-SIM functionality. In this example, the Add Plan instruction 526and the Activate Plan instruction 528 may not include any instruction toadd a new service plan. In response to receiving the Activate Planinstruction 528, the HSS/TAS/billing system may initiate multi-simfunctionality, e.g., by mapping an IMSI (or other identifier) of each ofthe primary device and the secondary device to the same MDN.

It should be understood that, while FIG. 5 illustrates the primarydevice as a smart phone and the secondary device as a smart watch, theseillustrations are not intended to be limiting. The primary device andthe secondary device are intended to have their full breadth of scope asdefined herein.

FIG. 6—Provisioning an eSIM or Initiating Multi-SIM Using an SMS Server

FIG. 6 illustrates communications 602-644, sent in connection with acommunications system including a primary device, a secondary device, anSMS server, a telephony application server (TAS)/billing system, aclient portal server, and an eSIM server. Each of the communications602-644 may include one or more messages transmitted between theillustrated elements of the communications system. The primary device,the secondary device, the HSS/TAS/billing system, the client portalserver, and the eSIM server may be as described with regard to FIG. 5.The SMS server may include one or more server devices configured tocontrol access to the HSS/TAS/billing system. Specifically, the SMSserver may include an internet protocol (IP) short message gateway(IP-SM-GW), and may be configured to receive and process SMS messages.The SMS server may be hosted by the carrier, such as a cellular serviceprovider, or by an agent of the carrier.

By providing and hosting the client portal server and the eSIM server,the third-party entity may provide for provision of eSIMs operable onthe carrier network, while decreasing the changes to be made by thecarrier to the previously existing carrier network. Utilizing an SMSserver, such as an IP-SM-GW, rather than a more specialized accessserver, may further reduce the changes to be made, and the resultingoverhead incurred, by the carrier.

Communications 602-612 may be similar to communications 402-412 of FIG.4, and the description of each of communications 402-412 may be applied,mutatis mutandis, to communications 602-612.

The primary device may transmit to the client portal server a Reserveinstruction 614. The Reserve instruction 614 may identify the selectedservice plan. The Reserve instruction 614 may also identify thesecondary device and/or the primary device, e.g., using one or moreICCIDs and/or CSNs. The Reserve instruction 614 may be transmitted atleast partially in response to receiving the user input at 612.

In response to receiving the Reserve instruction 614, the client portalserver may transmit to the eSIM server a Reserve eICCID instruction 616.The Reserve eICCID instruction 616 may identify the secondary deviceand/or the primary device, e.g., using one or more ICCIDs and/or CSNs.The Reserve eICCID instruction 616 may also identify the selectedservice plan. The Reserve eICCID instruction 614 may also optionallyinclude an indication that the eICCID to be reserved should beassociated with an eSIM configured to support multi-SIM functionality.In response to receiving the Reserve eICCID instruction 616, the eSIMserver may reserve an eICCID for the secondary device, wherein thereserved eICCID is associated with an eSIM configured to support theselected service plan. The eSIM server may then transmit to the clientportal server a Reserve ACK 618, acknowledging that an eICCID has beenreserved for the secondary device. The Reserve ACK 618 may identify thereserved eICCID.

The client portal server may transmit to the primary device a ReserveACK 620, acknowledging that the eICCID has been bound. The Reserve ACK620 may identify the bound eICCID. The client portal may transmit theReserve ACK 620 at least partially in response to receiving the ReserveACK 618.

The primary device may transmit to the SMS server an Add Plan SMS 622,including an indication to activate a service plan for the secondarydevice. For example, the Add Plan SMS 622 may include an indication toadd a service plan for the secondary device to an existing accountassociated with the primary device. The Add Plan SMS 622 may identifythe selected service plan. Additionally, or alternatively, the Add PlanSMS 622 may include an indication to initiate multi-SIM functionalityfor the primary device and the secondary device. The Add Plan SMS 622may also identify the secondary device and/or the primary device, e.g.,using one or more ICCIDs and/or CSNs, and may further include thereserved eICCID. The Add Plan SMS 622 may be a mobile originated (MO)background (e.g., Class 0) SMS. The Add Plan SMS 622 may be transmittedat least partially in response to receiving the Reserve ACK 620.

The SMS server may transmit to the HSS/TAS/billing system an ActivatePlan instruction 624 to activate a service plan for the secondarydevice. For example, the Activate Plan instruction 624 may includeinstruction to add a service plan for the secondary device to anexisting account associated with the primary device. The Activate Planinstruction 624 may identify the selected service plan. Additionally, oralternatively, the Activate Plan instruction 528 may include anindication to initiate multi-SIM functionality for the primary deviceand the secondary device. The Activate Plan instruction 624 may alsoidentify the secondary device and/or the primary device, e.g., using oneor more ICCIDs and/or CSNs, and may also identify the bound eICCID. TheSMS server may transmit the Activate Plan instruction 624 at leastpartially in response to receiving the Add Plan SMS 622.

In response to receiving the Activate Plan instruction 624, theHSS/TAS/billing system may activate the selected service plan for thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may add theselected service plan to an existing account associated with the primarydevice. Additionally, or alternatively, the HSS/TAS/billing system mayinitiate multi-SIM functionality for the primary device and thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may map theIMSI (or other identifier) of each of the primary device and thesecondary device to the same MDN. The HSS/TAS/billing system may thentransmit to the access server an Activate ACK 626, acknowledging thatthe selected service plan has been activated and/or that multi-SIMfunctionality has been initiated. The Activate ACK 626 may include a URLfrom which the eSIM associated with the bound eICCID may be downloaded.

The SMS server may transmit to the primary device a Plan Activated SMS628, acknowledging that the service plan has been activated for thesecondary device and/or that multi-SIM functionality has been initiated.The SMS server may transmit the Plan Activated SMS 628 at leastpartially in response to receiving the Activate ACK 626. The PlanActivated SMS 628 may identify the secondary device and/or the primarydevice, e.g., using one or more ICCIDs (e.g., the reserved eICCID)and/or CSNs. The Plan Activated SMS 628 may also include a URL fromwhich the eSIM associated with the bound eICCID may be downloaded.Alternatively, the URL may be provided at another point, such as in theresponse 608, or the URL may be pre-defined in the primary device'ssoftware configuration. The Plan Activated SMS 628 may be a mobileterminated (MT) background (e.g., Class 0) SMS.

The primary device may transmit to the client portal server a Bindinstruction 630. The Bind instruction 630 may identify the primarydevice, the secondary device and/or the reserved eICCID. The primarydevice may transmit the Bind instruction 630 at least partially inresponse to receiving the Plan Activated SMS 628.

The client portal server may transmit to the eSIM server a Bind eICCIDinstruction 632. The Bind eICCID instruction 632 may identify thesecondary device and/or the reserved eICCID. The client portal servermay transmit the Bind eICCID instruction 632 at least partially inresponse to receiving the Bind instruction 630. In response to receivingthe Bind eICCID instruction 632, the eSIM server may bind the reservedeICCID to the secondary device, e.g., by binding the eICCID to the CSNor other identifier of the secondary device. The eSIM may then transmitto the client portal server a Bind ACK 634, acknowledging that theeICCID has been bound. The Bind ACK 634 may identify the bound eICCID.The Bind ACK 634 may also include a URL from which the eSIM associatedwith the bound eICCID may be downloaded.

The client portal server may transmit to the primary device a Bind ACK636, acknowledging that the eICCID has been bound. The Bind ACK 636 mayidentify the bound eICCID. The Bind ACK 636 may also include a URL fromwhich the eSIM associated with the bound eICCID may be downloaded. Theclient portal may transmit the Bind ACK 636 at least partially inresponse to receiving the Bind ACK 634.

Communications 638, 640, 642, and 644 may be similar to communications430, 432, 434, and 436, respectively, of FIG. 4, and the description ofeach of communications 430, 432, 434, and 436 may be applied, mutatismutandis, to communications 638, 640, 642, and 644.

It may be noted that FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 illustrate similar networkstructure, but differing service flows. Specifically, FIG. 5 illustratesan embodiment in which the eICCID is both reserved and bound prior to anActivate Plan instruction being sent through the carrier to theHSS/TAS/billing system. By contrast, FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment inwhich an Activate Plan instruction is sent through the carrier to theHSS/TAS/billing system between the eICCID being reserved and the eICCIDbeing bound. It should be appreciated that either of these two serviceflows may be applied in conjunction with an access server (as in FIG. 5)or an SMS server (as in FIG. 6).

As with FIG. 4, the method of FIG. 6 may be adapted to allow thesecondary device to initiate its own provisioning with an eSIM.

It should be understood that FIG. 6, and the preceding descriptionthereof, are merely exemplary, and various steps or communications maybe omitted or reordered. For example, in some scenarios, some or all ofcommunications 602-610 may be omitted, for example, where only oneservice plan is available for the secondary device. In some suchscenarios, a user instruction received at 612 may initiate transmissionof the Reserve instruction 614 with regard to the one available serviceplan, without transmission of communications 602-610.

As another example, multi-SIM functionality may be initiated for theprimary device and the secondary device, where the secondary device hasalready been provisioned with a multi-SIM-capable SIM. In some suchscenarios, communications 502-510, 614-620, 630-636, and 638-644 may beomitted. For example, a user input at 612 may cause the primary deviceto transmit the Add Plan SMS 622, leading to the Activate Planinstruction 624. As noted above, the Add Plan SMS 622 and the ActivatePlan instruction 624 may include an indication to initiate multi-SIMfunctionality. In this example, the Add Plan SMS 622 and the ActivatePlan instruction 624 may not include any instruction to add a newservice plan. In response to receiving the Activate Plan instruction624, the HSS/TAS/billing system may initiate multi-sim functionality,e.g., by mapping an IMSI (or other identifier) of each of the primarydevice and the secondary device to the same MDN.

It should be understood that, while FIG. 6 illustrates the primarydevice as a smart phone and the secondary device as a smart watch, theseillustrations are not intended to be limiting. The primary device andthe secondary device are intended to have their full breadth of scope asdefined herein.

FIG. 7—Provisioning an eSIM or Initiating Multi-SIM Using an EnhancedClient Portal Server

FIG. 7 illustrates communications 702-748, sent in connection with acommunications system including a primary device, a secondary device, anaccess server, a telephony application server (TAS)/billing system, aclient portal server, and an eSIM server. Each of the communications702-748 may include one or more messages transmitted between theillustrated elements of the communications system. Each of theillustrated elements may be defined, and may operate, substantially asdiscussed with regard to FIG. 5. However, in the example of FIG. 7, theclient portal server may be further configured to perform additionalfunctions in activating a service plan for the secondary device andinitiating multi-SIM functionality. By configuring the client portalserver to perform these additional functions, the example of FIG. 7 mayreduce the processing and communication burden on the primary device,relative to the example of FIG. 5.

At 702, the primary device may receive an input from the user,indicating a request to initiate cellular functionality for thesecondary device. For example, the input of 702 may request activating acellular service plan for the secondary device, provisioning of an eSIMto the secondary device, and/or initiating multi-SIM functionalitybetween the primary device and the secondary device. The input of 702may also indicate a carrier network for which the eSIM should beoperable. It should be understood that communication 702, or anequivalent communication, may be included at the start of any of thepreceding examples of FIGS. 4-6, although not shown in those figures.

The primary device may, e.g., in response to the user input of 702,transmit to the access server a query 704 for information regardingwhich, if any, secondary devices are currently (or in some scenarioshave previously been) configured for multi-SIM functionality with theprimary device (or a particular SIM of the primary device) and/or arecurrently sharing a service plan with the primary device (or aparticular SIM of the primary device). The query 704 may include anidentifier of the primary device and/or of a SIM of the primary device,such as an ICCID or IMSI.

In response to receiving the query 704, the access server may transmitto the HSS/TAS/billing system a query 706, which may relay to theHSS/TAS/billing system the request for information regarding secondarydevices associated with the primary device according to the query 704.

In response to receiving the query 706, the HSS/TAS/billing system mayidentify the requested information, and provide to the access server aresponse 708. For example, the response 708 may include a list of zeroor more secondary devices that are currently configured for multi-SIMfunctionality with the primary device and/or are currently sharing aservice plan with the primary device. In some scenarios, the response708 may identify a secondary device included in the list by a CSN of thesecond device, and/or by an ICCID of a SIM (e.g., an eICCID of an eSIM)associated with the CSN. In some scenarios, the list of zero or moresecondary devices may include only secondary devices that are currentlyconfigured for multi-SIM functionality with the primary device and/orare currently sharing a service plan with the primary device on thecarrier network specified in communication 702.

In response to receiving the response 708, the access server maytransmit to the primary device a response 710, which may relay to theprimary device the information regarding the secondary devicesassociated with the primary device according to the query 704, e.g.,including the list of zero or more secondary devices.

In response to receiving the response 710, the primary device maydetermine whether the response 710 indicates that the secondary deviceis already configured for multi-SIM functionality with the primarydevice and/or currently sharing a service plan with the primary device.For example, the primary device may determine whether a CSN and/orassociated ICCID, or other identifier, of the secondary device isincluded in the list of zero or more secondary devices.

If the primary device determines that the response 710 indicates thatthe secondary device is already configured for multi-SIM functionalitywith the primary device and/or currently sharing a service plan with theprimary device, then the primary device may terminate the procedure, andmay, in some scenarios, inform the user.

If the primary device instead determines that the response 710 indicatesthat the secondary device is not already configured for multi-SIMfunctionality with the primary device and/or currently sharing a serviceplan with the primary device, then the primary device may transmit tothe access server an initiation request 712 to initiate cellular signupfor the secondary device.

It should be understood that communications 704-710, or equivalentcommunications, may be included at the start of any of the precedingexamples of FIGS. 4-6, although not shown in those figures.Specifically, step 402, 502, or 602 may, in some scenarios, be performedresponse to the primary device determining that the response 710indicates that the secondary device is not already configured formulti-SIM functionality with the primary device and/or currently sharinga service plan with the primary device, following the communications702-710.

The initiation request 712 may include a request to activate a cellularservice plan for the secondary device and/or a request to initiate aprocedure for provisioning an eSIM to the secondary device and/or aprocedure for initiating multi-SIM functionality between the primarydevice and the secondary device.

In response to receiving the initiation request 712, the access servermay transmit to the primary device a signup information message 714. Thesignup information message 714 may include information for proceedingwith the requested cellular signup procedure. For example, the signupinformation message 714 may include a URL or other address of the clientportal server. The signup information message 714 may further includesession data regarding the existing communication session between theprimary device and the cellular network, e.g., via the access server.

Further in response to receiving the initiation request 712, the accessserver may, at 716, provide to the client portal server session dataregarding the existing communication session between the primary deviceand the cellular network. The session data communicated to the clientportal server at 716 may be the same as that included in the signupinformation message 714, or may include different/additional sessioninformation. In some scenarios, a shared memory (not shown) may beaccessible to both the access server and the client portal server. Insuch scenarios, communication 716 may include the access server storingthe session data to the shared memory, and the client portal serverretrieving the session data from the shared memory. In some scenarios,the client portal server may retrieve the session data from the sharedmemory at some later time, such as in response to a communication fromthe primary device, e.g., in which the primary device requests tocontinue the communication session with the client portal server. Thecommunication 716 may include additional passing of session data orother information between the access server and the client portal serverat other times.

In response to receiving the signup information message 714, the primarydevice may transmit to the client portal server a portal request 718.The portal request 718 may include information regarding the request toinitiate cellular functionality for the secondary device indicated at702. The portal request 718 may further include the session informationincluded in the signup information message 714. In some scenarios, thesession information included in the portal request 718 may identify thecommunication session between the primary device and the cellularnetwork, which may allow the client portal server to retrieve additionalsession information regarding the communication session from the accessserver (e.g., via the shared memory).

In response to receiving the portal request 718, the client portalserver may transmit to the primary device portal content 720. The portalcontent may include code, such as HTML code or other markup languagecode, for presenting information regarding the cellular signup process.

In response to receiving the portal content 720, the primary device may,at 722, display the portal content to the user, e.g., in a web browser.The primary device may then receive user input 724, and pass on the userinput as consent message 726.

The portal content displayed at 722 may be similar or identical in formand content to that described at 410, in connection with FIG. 4. Forexample, the primary device may display a graphical user interfaceincluding a list of service plans available for the secondary deviceand/or other information, such as contractual terms and conditions.Similarly, the user input received at 724 may be similar or identical inform and content to that described at 412. For example, the user input724 may select one of the available service plans, accept terms andconditions, etc. Additionally, communications 722 and 724 may beiterative, in the same manner as communications 710 and 712.

However, in contrast to the example of FIG. 4, in the example of FIG. 7the primary device may act merely as a thin client in providing thistwo-way interface between the client portal server and the user. Forexample, whereas in the example of FIG. 4, the primary device maygenerate a user interface based on raw information received from theaccess server, in the example of FIG. 7 the client portal server maygenerate such a user interface, and communicate code defining the userinterface as the portal content 720. The primary device may then render(e.g., in a web browser) the user interface defined by the code includedin the portal content 720. Similarly, the primary device may pass rawuser input 724 to the client portal server as consent message 726. Thus,the primary device has no need to receive or process knowledge regardingthe information presented in the user interface, such as knowledgeregarding service plans.

Additionally, in this way the primary device may be largely removed fromthe process of activating a service plan, provisioning an eSIM to thesecondary device, and/or initiating multi-SIM functionality between theprimary device and the secondary device. Many of the functional steps ofperforming such a process may instead be carried out by the clientportal server, as follows.

In some scenarios, in response to receiving the consent message 726, theclient portal server may reserve and bind an eICCID of an eSIM for thesecondary device. Specifically, the client portal server may transmit tothe eSIM server Reserve eICCID instruction 728, which may be similar oridentical to the Reserve eICCID instruction 516, as disclosed withregard to FIG. 5. In response, the eSIM server may transmit to theclient portal server a Reserve ACK 730, which may be similar oridentical to the Reserve ACK 518. The client portal server may thentransmit to the eSIM server a Bind eICCID instruction 732, which may besimilar or identical to the Bind eICCID instruction 520, and in responsethe eSIM server may transmit to the client portal server a Bind ACK 734,which may be similar or identical to the Bind ACK 522.

In other scenarios, the consent message 726 and/or the sessioninformation 716 may indicate that the secondary device has already beenprovisioned with an eSIM. In such scenarios, steps 728-734 may beomitted.

Once an eICCID has been bound for the secondary device, (e.g., inresponse to the Bind ACK 734), the client portal server may transmit tothe HSS/TAS/billing system an Add Plan instruction 736 to activate aservice plan for the secondary device and/or to initiate multi-SIMfunctionality between the primary device and the secondary device. TheAdd Plan instruction 736 may be similar or identical to the Add Planinstruction 526, except that the Add Plan instruction 736 may be passedby the client portal server to the HSS/TAS/billing system, rather thanbeing passed by the primary device, through the access server, to theHSS/TAS/billing system, as in the example of FIG. 5.

In response to receiving the Add Plan instruction 736, theHSS/TAS/billing system may activate the selected service plan for thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may add theselected service plan to an existing account associated with the primarydevice. Additionally, or alternatively, the HSS/TAS/billing system mayinitiate multi-SIM functionality between the primary device and thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may map theIMSI (or other identifier) of each of the primary device and thesecondary device to the same MDN. The HSS/TAS/billing system may thentransmit to the access server an Activate ACK 738, acknowledging thatthe selected service plan has been activated and/or that multi-SIMfunctionality has been initiated. The Activate ACK 738 may include a URLor other address from which the eSIM associated with the bound eICCIDmay be downloaded.

The client portal server may, e.g, in response to receiving the ActivateACK 738, transmit to the primary device a Signup Completion ACK 740. TheSignup Completion ACK 740 may acknowledge that the service plan has beenactivated for the secondary device and/or that multi-SIM functionalityhas been initiated. The Signup Completion ACK 740 may further include anindication of the bound eICCID and/or the URL or other address fromwhich the eSIM associated with the bound eICCID may be downloaded.

Communications 742, 744, and 746 may be similar to communications 430,432, and 434, respectively, of FIG. 4, and the description of each ofcommunications 430, 432, and 434 may be applied, mutatis mutandis, tocommunications 742, 744, and 746.

As with FIG. 4, the example of FIG. 7 may be adapted to allow thesecondary device to initiate its own provisioning with an eSIM.

It should be understood that FIG. 7, and the preceding descriptionthereof, are merely exemplary, and various steps or communications maybe omitted or reordered.

It should be understood that, while FIG. 7 illustrates the primarydevice as a smart phone and the secondary device as a smart watch, theseillustrations are not intended to be limiting. The primary device andthe secondary device are intended to have their full breadth of scope asdefined herein.

FIG. 8—Provisioning an eSIM or Initiating Multi-SIM Using a ModifiedeSIM Server

FIG. 8 illustrates communications 802-842, sent in connection with acommunications system including a primary device, a secondary device, anaccess server, a telephony application server (TAS)/billing system, aclient portal server, and an eSIM server. Each of the communications802-842 may include one or more messages transmitted between theillustrated elements of the communications system. Each of theillustrated elements may be defined, and may operate, substantially asdiscussed with regard to FIG. 7. However, in the example of FIG. 8, theeSIM server may be further configured to perform auto-assignment of aneICCID for the secondary device.

Communications 802-810 may be similar to communications 702-710 of FIG.7, and the description of each of communications 702-710 may be applied,mutatis mutandis, to communications 802-810.

In response to receiving the response 810, the primary device maytransmit to the secondary device an eSIM Download instruction 812. TheeSIM Download instruction 812 may instruct the secondary device toobtain an eSIM from the eSIM server. The eSIM Download instruction 812may include an indication of the carrier network for which the eSIMshould be operable, which may have been provided to the primary device,e.g., at 802. Because the secondary device has not yet been provisionedwith an eSIM for communication on the carrier network, the primarydevice may, in some scenarios, transmit the eSIM Download instruction812 via a secondary communication channel, such as a WLAN network or ashort-range communication connection, such as a Bluetooth connection.

In response to receiving the eSIM Download instruction 812, thesecondary device may transmit to the eSIM server an Initiate Downloadinstruction 814, which may include an identifier of the secondarydevice, e.g., the CSN of the secondary device. The Initiate Downloadinstruction 814 may further include an identifier of the primary deviceand/or a SIM of the primary device, and/or may also include anindication of the carrier network for which the eSIM to be provisionedfor the secondary device should be operable. The Initiate Downloadinstruction 814 may further include a list of eSIMs (e.g., a list ofeICCIDs or other identifiers associated with the eSIMs) that thesecondary device currently has installed.

In response to receiving the Initiate Download instruction 814, the eSIMserver may determine whether an eSIM has been bound to the secondarydevice (e.g., whether an eICCID has been bound to a CSN or otheridentifier of the secondary device), but has not yet been installed inthe secondary device (e.g., is not included in the list of installedeSIMs included in the Initiate Download instruction 814). In somescenarios, the eSIM server may determine more specifically whether aneSIM has been bound to the secondary device, but not installed, for usein the carrier network specified in the Initiate Download instruction814.

If the eSIM server determines that an uninstalled eSIM has been bound tothe secondary device (e.g., for use in the specified carrier network),then the eSIM server may transmit to the secondary device an eSIMPayload 818, including the eSIM bound to the secondary device. An eSIMmight have been bound, for example, through the procedures shown in anyof FIGS. 4-7.

If the eSIM server determines that no uninstalled eSIM has been bound tothe secondary device (e.g., for use in the specified carrier network),then the eSIM server may determine whether the specified carrier networksupports auto-assignment of an eICCID. If the eSIM server determinesthat the specified carrier network supports auto-assignment of aneICCID, then the eSIM server may, at 816, auto-assign an eICCID to thesecondary device for use in the specified carrier network, withoutreceiving an explicit reserve request or bind request. Once the eICCIDhas been auto-assigned to the secondary device, the eSIM server maytransmit to the secondary device the eSIM Payload 818, including theeSIM associated with the auto-assigned eICCID.

In response to receiving the eSIM Payload 818, the secondary device may,at 820, store the eSIM received in the eSIM Payload 818 in an eUICC. Atthis stage, the secondary device has been successfully provisioned withthe eSIM. However, the secondary device may not yet use the provisionedSIM for communication on the carrier network, because the eSIM may notyet be associated with an active service plan. The secondary device mayalso identify the eSIM to the primary device.

Once the eSIM has been provisioned to the secondary device, the primarydevice may transmit to the access server an initiation request 822 toinitiate cellular signup for the secondary device. The initiationrequest 822 may be similar or identical to the initiation request 712 ofthe example of FIG. 7, except that the initiation request 822 mayinclude an identifier of the provisioned eSIM (e.g., the eICCID), toinform the cellular network of the eSIM provisioned to the secondarydevice.

Communications 824-836 may be similar to communications 714-726 of FIG.7, and the description of each of communications 714-726 may be applied,mutatis mutandis, to communications 824-836.

In response to receiving the portal request 826, the client portalserver may transmit to the HSS/TAS/billing system an Add Planinstruction 838 to activate a service plan for the secondary deviceand/or to initiate multi-SIM functionality between the primary deviceand the secondary device. The Add Plan instruction 838 may be similar oridentical to the Add Plan instruction 736.

In response to receiving the Add Plan instruction 838, theHSS/TAS/billing system may activate the selected service plan for thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may add theselected service plan to an existing account associated with the primarydevice. Additionally, or alternatively, the HSS/TAS/billing system mayinitiate multi-SIM functionality between the primary device and thesecondary device. For example, the HSS/TAS/billing system may map theIMSI (or other identifier) of each of the primary device and thesecondary device to the same MDN. The HSS/TAS/billing system may thentransmit to the access server an Activate ACK 840, acknowledging thatthe selected service plan has been activated and/or that multi-SIMfunctionality has been initiated.

The client portal server may, e.g, in response to receiving the ActivateACK 840, transmit to the primary device a Signup Completion ACK 842. TheSignup Completion ACK 842 may acknowledge that the service plan has beenactivated for the secondary device and/or that multi-SIM functionalityhas been initiated.

At this point, the eSIM provisioned to the secondary device has beenassociated with an active service plan, and may be used forcommunication on the carrier network. The primary device may notify thesecondary device of the successful plan activation.

As with FIG. 4, the example of FIG. 8 may be adapted to allow thesecondary device to initiate its own provisioning with an eSIM.

It should be understood that FIG. 8, and the preceding descriptionthereof, are merely exemplary, and various steps or communications maybe omitted or reordered.

It should be understood that, while FIG. 8 illustrates the primarydevice as a smart phone and the secondary device as a smart watch, theseillustrations are not intended to be limiting. The primary device andthe secondary device are intended to have their full breadth of scope asdefined herein.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of variousforms. For example, some embodiments may be realized as acomputer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or acomputer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or morecustom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other embodimentsmay be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such asFPGAs.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory mediummay be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data,where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, causethe computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE 106, a secondary device 107,or any one or more of the servers or systems illustrated in any of thefigures) may be configured to include a processor (or a set ofprocessors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores programinstructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute theprogram instructions from the memory medium, where the programinstructions are executable to implement a method, e.g., any of thevarious method embodiments described herein (or, any combination of themethod embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets). Thedevice may be realized in any of various forms.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of a primary mobile device, theapparatus comprising: processor circuitry; and a memory storing softwareinstructions executable by the processor circuitry to cause theapparatus to: provide, to a cellular communication network, anidentifier of the primary mobile device and a second identifier of asecondary mobile device; request initiation by the cellularcommunication network of multi-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)functionality for the primary mobile device and the secondary mobiledevice, wherein the multi-SIM functionality associates the primarymobile device and the secondary mobile device with a shared telephonenumber; receive, from the cellular communication network, an indicationthat the multi-SIM functionality has been initiated for the primarymobile device and the secondary mobile device; and provide, to thesecondary mobile device, in response to receiving the indication thatthe multi-SIM functionality has been initiated, an instruction todownload an embedded SIM (eSIM) to be provisioned to the secondarymobile device, wherein the eSIM is configured to support the multi-SIMfunctionality.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the requestinginitiation by the cellular communication network of multi-SIMfunctionality comprises requesting that the eSIM to be provisioned tothe secondary mobile device be mapped to a Mobile Directory Number (MDN)to which a SIM of the primary mobile device is also mapped.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the software instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor circuitry to cause the apparatus to: receivean indication of a received telephone communication request, afterreceiving the indication that the multi-SIM functionality has beeninitiated, wherein the secondary mobile device also receives theindication of the received telephone communication request.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the second identifier is a Card SerialNumber (CSN) of the secondary mobile device.
 5. The apparatus of claim4, wherein the software instructions are further executable by theprocessor circuitry to cause the apparatus to: request that the cellularcommunication network bind an embedded Integrated Circuit CardIdentifier (eICCID) associated with the eSIM to be provisioned to thesecondary mobile device to the CSN of the secondary mobile device. 6.The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the software instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor circuitry to cause the apparatus to: receivea confirmation that the eICCID associated with the eSIM to beprovisioned to the secondary mobile device is bound to the CSN of thesecondary mobile device.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theindication that the multi-SIM functionality has been initiated comprisesa network address from which the eSIM may be downloaded.
 8. An apparatusof a secondary wireless communication device, the apparatus comprising:processor circuitry; and a memory storing software instructionsexecutable by the processor circuitry to cause the apparatus to:receive, from a primary wireless communication device, a firstindication that an embedded Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM) has beenbound to an identifier of the secondary wireless communication device;receive, from the primary wireless communication device, a secondindication that multi-SIM functionality has been initiated for the eSIMand a SIM of the primary wireless communication device, wherein themulti-SIM functionality associates the primary wireless communicationdevice and the secondary wireless communication device with a sharedtelephone number; download the eSIM to a Universal Integrated CircuitCard (UICC) of the secondary wireless communication device in responseto receiving the second indication; and utilize the eSIM to conduct awireless communication.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein anInternational Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the eSIM and an IMSIof the SIM of the primary wireless communication device are mapped to asingle Mobile Directory Number (MDN).
 10. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the first indication and the second indication are received froma wireless communication network via the primary wireless communicationdevice.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the UICC is an embeddedUICC (eUICC).
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the softwareinstructions are further executable by the processor circuitry to causethe apparatus to: request provisioning of the eSIM by communicating withan eSIM server via cellular communications using a second eSIM stored onthe UICC, the second eSIM having limited cellular communicationcapabilities.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the softwareinstructions are further executable by the processor circuitry to causethe apparatus to: request provisioning of the eSIM by communicating withan eSIM server via a wireless local area network (WLAN).
 14. Anapparatus for operation within a wireless communication network, theapparatus comprising: processor circuitry; and a memory storing softwareinstructions executable by the processor circuitry to cause theapparatus to: receive, from a first mobile device, an identifier of thefirst mobile device, an identifier of a second mobile device, and arequest for initiation of multi-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)functionality for the first mobile device and the second mobile device,wherein the multi-SIM functionality associates the first mobile deviceand the second mobile device with a shared telephone number; cause anidentifier of an embedded SIM (eSIM) to be bound to the identifier ofthe second mobile device, the eSIM configured to support multi-SIMfunctionality for the first mobile device and the second mobile device;request initiation by the wireless communication network of multi-SIMfunctionality for the first mobile device and the second mobile device;receive an indication that the multi-SIM functionality has beeninitiated for the first mobile device and the second mobile device; andprovide, to the first mobile device, the identifier of the eSIM and anindication that the multi-SIM functionality has been initiated for thefirst mobile device and the second mobile device.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein, in requesting initiation by the wirelesscommunication network of multi-SIM functionality for the first mobiledevice and the second mobile device, the software instructions arefurther executable to cause the apparatus to: request that the eSIM bemapped to a Mobile Directory Number (MDN) to which a SIM of the firstmobile device is also mapped.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein theidentifier of the eSIM comprises an embedded Integrated Circuit CardIdentifier (eICCID).
 17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein theidentifier of the second mobile device comprises a Card Serial Number(CSN) of the second mobile device.
 18. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein the software instructions are further executable by theprocessor circuitry to cause the apparatus to: provide, to the firstmobile device, a network address from which the eSIM may be downloaded.19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein, in causing the identifier of theeSIM to be bound to the identifier of the second mobile device, thesoftware instructions are further executable to cause the apparatus to:provide a bind instruction to an eSIM server of the wirelesscommunication network and receive the identifier of the eSIM from theeSIM server.
 20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the softwareinstructions are further executable by the processor circuitry to causethe apparatus to: request activation by the wireless communicationnetwork of a wireless communication service plan for the second mobiledevice.